Scapegoat

Chapter 26

“Kitty!”

Darko heard
Mary’s happy cry. Elva must have jumped out of his truck. He did not look to
check. His eyes were focused on the girl in front of him.

Clare.

Why was she
there? Was she going to yell at him? Tell him how much pain he had caused her?
He already knew. He did not need to be told. He had just begun to feel good
about being home. He did not need anything to ruin it.

His
heartbeat sped up, and his chest tightened. For once, it did not help that
Cynnie was beside him. He could feel all eyes on him. Everyone was waiting for
the confrontation that was about to happen. He wanted to run, but his feet
would not move. There was no escape. “Clare,” he breathed. He was unable to say
any more.

Clare’s
blazing eyes bore into his. “It’s been a long time,” she said smoothly. “I was
wondering if you would be coming back.”

Darko
swallowed hard. Maybe this had been a mistake. He should have never come back.
He should have known she would be here waiting for him. He barely felt the
pressure of Cynnie’s hand on his shoulder.

“Clare,”
Curtis began sternly.

Clare shook
her head at him. “Let me speak. I need to say this.”

Curtis fell
silent and stepped back. No one else said a word.

“Darko,”
Clare said steadily, “I forgive you.”

Darko stared
at her, unsure he had heard her right. “What?”

Clare
smiled. For the first time, he noticed a happiness and light about her that he
had never seen before. “I forgive you for what you did to me.”

A murmur
broke out through the crowd. As the noise grew louder, Darko made a motion with
his hands to make them stop. “I don’t understand.” He looked at her in
confusion. How could this be possible? This was not normal, was it?

“To tell you
the truth, I never did feel like I had been the victim of a crime,” Clare
admitted. “Not at first. It was wrong and I was horrified, but I never wanted
to bring you to trial. It was my parents and my lawyer who convinced me that I
had been violated. They messed with my mind. They had me believing that I was
affected much worse than I actually was.” She smiled grimly. “I know they were
trying to help, but they probably did more to escalate the situation into a
tragedy than you did.” She shook her head.

Darko
blinked. He was too stunned to say anything. He nodded, urging her to continue.
He needed to hear. He needed to understand. He needed to be sure this was not
all a dream.

“The real
harm came when I discovered I was pregnant,” Clare went on.

Darko froze
again. Pregnant? This was the first he had heard about it. Why had no one told
him? Did he not have the right? Of course not. He had been a criminal. His
heart suddenly felt very heavy.

“I was given
a hard time by everyone in the town,” Clare said. “Everyone was pressuring me
to ‘get rid of the problem.’” She hesitated. “I wanted to, but I could not go
through with an abortion. I could not justify murder just because I had had my
rights violated. Two wrongs don’t make a right.” She shook her head. “Sadly,
most people don’t see it that way. No one understood my decision. So I had to
leave.

“My cousin
was a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma. I went there to live with
her and study at the university. She was very supportive and helpful. I was
very agitated and probably annoying at the time. I was starting to view
everything with a negative lens. I grew resentment against you and other guys.
I was bitter and angry most of the time. I could not make many friends. It was
a very hard point in my life.

“Ironically,
things started looking up once I had my baby. Her name is Hannah.” Her eyes
were brimming with tears. “She was beautiful. She still is. I found a joy and
happiness in her that I could not have imagined. Taking care of her helped me
heal emotionally and psychologically. How could I not love her? She was a part
of me. And she was pure and innocent. I poured all of my devotion into her. For
awhile, everything was fine.”

Darko
swallowed a new lump in his throat. He had a daughter. Hannah. He could hardly
believe it. His wrong act had brought forth life that had blessed his victim.
How amazing.

“I met Ted
when Hannah was two. I was a senior in college. He was five years older than
me. I would never have met him if not for her. I ran into him because I was
chasing Hannah at a local pool.” Clare smiled. “It took me awhile to learn how
to trust him. But he was patient and kind. He showed me the goodness in the
world and taught me how to love again.

“We married
three years ago. We moved back to Montgomery right before the wedding. It was a
very healing experience to be reunited with those in the town. Everyone
accepted Hannah.” She paused. “Someone introduced her to Curtis’ kids, telling
her that they were her cousins. I was furious. I still hated you, Darko, and I
blamed you for a lot of the misfortunes in my life. Hannah was confused. I
tried to explain, but it just made everything worse.

“After the
wedding, I thought those struggles had passed. Ted convinced me to let Hannah
see her cousins on a limited, supervised basis. A year later, I gave birth to a
baby boy. His name is Nick. He was beautiful as well.” She smiled sadly.
“Hannah was six and she had begun to act up again. She started ignoring me.
Finally, I asked her what was wrong. What she said shocked me. She asked if I
had stopped loving her now that I had Nick. She thought the only reason I had
loved her was because I did not have a true child of my own conceived by an act
of love. She then mentioned you. She said that if I hated you I had to hate her
as well because she would not be born if it were not for you. Even at that
young age, she rightly understood that she was a part of you and I could not
separate the two. How could I love her if I hated the one who had given me
her?”

Clare
grimaced. “I talked to Father Evan and I learned that he had forbidden you to
come back to church.” She frowned. “That did not sit right with me. A younger
priest had just started working at the church, so I talked to him. He had a
much different perspective. He taught me about God’s love and forgiveness for
both victims and offenders. He made
me see that the only way I was ever going to truly heal was to let go of my
anger and forgive you. He showed me that forgiveness helps the person forgiving
a lot more than the person who is being forgiven, especially if that person
does not know.”

She smiled.
“It took a lot of time and prayer, but I was finally able to do it. Hannah was
with me every step of the way. You were always a good friend to me. I realized
that you probably did not mean to hurt me. I was sure you were sorry. I wanted
to be able to look back at the good memories and smile again. I wanted to
remember you positively. Thankfully, I can do that now.

“Once I was ready, I began
researching sex offender laws out of curiosity.” A sad look crossed her face.
“It’s terrible the way they’re treated. It must be horrible to never be able to
get past your mistakes. I’m sorry I ever agreed to the trial. If I had known
what it would cost you…” She shook her head. “The criminal justice system
really should consider a victim’s views. If I could, I would get you out of the
registration requirement and everything else. You’ve dealt with enough for my
sake.”

Darko’s eyes were filled with tears.
He was overwhelmed with emotion. “You’re sorry? I’m sorry for what I did,” he
choked out.

“I know,” Clare said softly. “It’s in
the past now; let’s move on.” She paused. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
She turned to the crowd and nodded. A black-haired, brown-eyed man stepped
forward. He was carrying a small boy with black hair and green eyes. By his
side was a little girl. She had beautiful, short, red hair and blue eyes that
lit up when they landed on Darko. “Daddy!” she cried and raced towards him.

Darko acted almost upon an instinct
he had never known was there. He bent down and opened his arms. The young child
jumped into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck. Darko held her securely
as he stood up. He shut his eyes, tears dripping down.

When Darko pulled back to gaze at the
girl, she looked at him earnestly. “I told Mommy you would be back,” Hannah
said.

Darko could not find words to
describe what he was feeling. He stuck with a simple, “It’s nice to meet you.”
He set the child down and began to recompose himself. He took this chance to
examine the other people around him.

There was a mixture of shock,
confusion, and awe. He had never seen these people so stunned. And then there
was his father. He had been watching the whole thing. He had a look of
contemplation on his face. No one spoke a word.

Darko suddenly remembered that Cynnie
was there. “Oh, this is my friend, Cynnie. She’s from Green Bay. That’s where
I’m living now.”

Cynnie waved. “Hi.”

Clare nodded. “I see. Packers fan
too. That fits.” She turned and faced the crowd. “Does anyone else have
anything they would like to say?”

First there was silence. Then Darren
stepped forward. He coughed to clear his throat. “I’m, uh, sorry, Darko. If
Clare can forgive you, then I suppose I can too.”

Janet smiled and nodded at him.
“Good, Darren.”

Darko smiled slightly. “Thanks, Dad.”
It seemed like everyone else felt similarly. He was still not sure what to
think himself. He was feeling too much.

“Are you going to stay?” little
Hannah asked, tugging on his pant leg.

“Yes, we would love it if you
returned,” his mother said gently.

“It would be alright with me,” Clare
added.

Darko hesitated. He had never allowed
himself to think about being welcomed home. He never thought it possible. But
now… It would be good, wouldn’t it? It seemed like he would not be harassed or
judged anymore. Someone would give him a job. He would have a home. As long as
he stayed in town, he could live a normal life.

But… what about Green Bay? He had
already invested so much time and energy in the city. And he loved it there. He
was starting to get people to understand him. He had gotten people to change
their ways of thinking. How much more good could he do? And there was Cynnie.
If not for her, perhaps the offer would be more tempting.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” he
began steadily. “I have to go back to Green Bay. That’s my home now. I have
friends I don’t want to leave.” He looked at Cynnie and smiled. “I’ll come and
visit, but I still have work to do up north.” He glanced down at Hannah.
“Besides, I don’t think the government would approve.”

“If that’s what you want to do,”
Janet said. “But at least accompany us for Mardi Gras tomorrow.”

Cynnie grinned. “Yes, let’s go to
it!”

Darko smiled and nodded. “Ok. That
would be great.”

Mardi Gras was a great celebration in
Louisiana. As a child, Darko had looked forward to dressing up and passing out
candy in the parades. But as a sex offender, he was not allowed to dress up or
pass out candy, even though his crime had nothing to do with children, plus the
fact that no child has ever died from poisoned candy. It was an absolutely
ridiculous violation of his rights if not outright unconstitutional.

But he chose to put all that aside as
he had fun with Cynnie, his family, and those he had once known in his
hometown. The event was just as spectacular as he remembered. And when it was
all finished, he left with Cynnie to go back to Green Bay. To return home.

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